Thursday, 6 April 2017

The Princely State of Jhamjar

In actuality, Jhamjar is my new little Imagi-Nation! Many months ago, I picked up a copy of Too Fat Lardies Chain of Command (CoC), and I've been looking for an opportunity to fit in a test game ever since. CoC is a World War II miniatures game, and I have no WWII miniatures. TFL was working on a modern variant on the game for Afghanistan, but it seems to have been placed on the back burner at Lard Island. In the meantime, I'm hoping to get a chance to see if the system feels right for me.

As I mentioned, I have no WWII miniatures. I do, however, have a surprising number of WWI or Interwar-era British Empire forces, including British troops in sun helmets, Gurkhas, Indian (Muslim) infantry, Sikhs, King's African Rifles, NZ Mounted Rifles, Indian Lancers and a small horde of ANZACs. I don't have any suitable opponents for them. So, enter the Jhelli of Jhamjar.

Theoretically, the Princely States never had need for any armed forces more elaborate than a ceremonial guard for their prince. But then along came the Great War, and a call for all subjects of the Empire to contribute to the war effort. The Martial Races of Jhamjar enthusiastically answered the call, and at the end of hostilities, the Jhelli of Jhamjar found himself with a core of veterans of France, East Africa, Gallipoli, the Levant and Mesopotamia. A wise man, he also could see the way the wind was blowing as nations began to seek true independence from the rule of the colonial empires. After a secret visit from M.N. Roy, the Jhelli began his plans to foment a revolution to drive the British out of India, or at least out of Jhamjar!

I'm going to try to get a small scenario set up for Trumpeter's next Bonsor night. No guarantees, but we'll see how it goes. I'll be able to use my Afghanistan terrain. The troops will be somewhat vanilla, as almost all of the available forces will be infantry armed with bolt-action rifles. I do have a couple of Vickers guns and a few Lewis guns to throw into the mix. If the first game goes well, I can consider finding room for the cavalry and/or my Vickers Medium Mark II* in a future scenario!

In the meantime, I may see if I can develop the history, culture and geography of Jhamjar!